


Entropy

by orphan_account



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Secret Marriage, au: in which the maeve storyline doesn't exist (unfortunately)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:38:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9611837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "How long have you been married?""Four years."---Spencer Reid knows the best lie is no lie at all. He also knows that Cat Adams won't believe anything he says once the night is done. He's banking on that small aspect of his profile.





	1. Chapter 1

"How long have you  been married  ?"

"Four years."

"When is she due to give birth?"

"A couple of..." Spencer Reid cleared his throat. "Um, a couple of months."

* * *

"Hotch..." Morgan clenched his fists on top of the table, prompting Tara to shake her head at him. "That wasn't a lie."

Morgan watched as Rossi's legs stiffened underneath his booth across the room, a subtle message that only a profiler might see. Their earpieces crackled, and Aaron Hotchner's voice cut into their silent conversation.

"Morgan, Reid is a better actor than he was twelve years ago.  Just  because he can be a convincing undercover agent does not make the story true."

"I think  Morgan is onto something, Hotch," JJ spoke into her drink, sipping at the glass of water. "Did you hear the inflection in his voice? He only clears his throat and uses 'um' like that when he's trying to lie. He does it when he talks about his mother, Gideon, and Emily."

"He looks nervous." Rossi's voice was next to pipe up over the line. "You know he's calmer than this when confronting unsubs."

"Even the most violent ones," JJ agreed. _"Until_ they talk about the people he loves."

Silence reigned, only broken up by Penelope's quiet _'oh, oh, oh's_ , until Hotch broke it again.

"Operate as planned. I doubt we'll find anything, but Garcia is searching for any documentation that this may be—"

"Sir, _look."_  

"Garcia?" A long, static-muffled sigh. "I repeat: operate as planned. Do not make Reid aware that we know about this."

_"'Aware that we know?'_ Hotch—"

"Morgan." The unit chief's voice was stern; he was giving a command, not suggesting the best course of action. "Do not under any circumstances make Reid aware of this. Calm down and stick to the plan. I will speak to him after we have Cat Adams and her accomplice in custody."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to my small au: maeve never happened, derek's storyline might shift, and spencer reid is hiding much more than dilauded or headaches.


	2. Chapter 2

"Reid."

Hotch's quiet summons was enough to silence the entire bullpen's informal debriefing session, and although it was an unusual request, Spencer followed him into his office without complaint. The worst he could expect was a tap on the knuckles for letting the assassins get the best of them for a few moments.

He watched as Hotch drew the blinds on the windows looking out into the BAU and settled into his seat.  A file  was opened  and the contents  were slid  across the table—an action reminiscent of an interrogation—and Spencer felt his blood run cold at the marriage license that sat  innocuously  in front of him.

"This record  was sealed, but Garcia was able to access it. You  were married  four years ago and there is no record of an annulment or divorce."

The stern look in Hotch's eye told Spencer that he was watching for lies or misdirection. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell us? At the very least, she qualifies for your benefits and needed to  be vetted by  the bureau."

"I told Strauss. She processed the paperwork and we followed procedure. I don't know why you weren't notified when you took over."

"But why didn't you tell us? You know the risks..." Hotch began to shuffle through another file.

"I know that losing Sarah broke Gideon. I know Will was  nearly  killed during the bank robbery. I know Cynthia's kidnapper escalated when he learned that she  was related  to Morgan. I know that Foyet attacked Haley and Jack two years, six months, and four days before I got married." Spencer's voice was soft, but Hotch winced and froze. "I ran the statistics when I met my wife, Hotch.  Friends and family of the BAU are  inordinately  targeted and attacked compared to those of agents in other divisions  . Strauss knew I  was worried  and sealed the records for me."

Hotch's expression softened, and Spencer watched his shoulder's slump. "Reid..."

"Hotch, it wasn't anything against this team. I trust you, but I don't trust an unsub to leave my family alone."

"Your family? She _is_ pregnant?" 

Spencer scoffed, the stress of the evening and the prying nature of the conversation beginning to wear on his nerves. "Garcia couldn't find that out?"

"Spencer, I know you don't like this— _we_ didn't like prying—but you gave this information away tonight.  We're trained profilers, but it's only a matter of time before the unsub isn't Cat Adams and will figure out the truth."

"Yes, she's pregnant." Spencer finally broke their eye contact, letting his natural, conflicted expression take over. There was no point in hiding from Hotch's profiling if he already knew everything. "She's... she's due in seven weeks."

"Congratulations."

Spencer's head shot up, and he stared at Hotch in bewilderment.

"Reid, I understand why you didn't tell us, but keeping something this important a secret must have been difficult. We are a family here, and I'm sure there will  be hurt  feelings, but getting married and having a child are important. So... congratulations."

"Thank you." It was hardly more than a whisper, but Spencer couldn't put words to his relief. He felt as though the floodgates were finally opening; four years of secrecy and evasion about some of the happiest parts of his life were more than merely difficult.

Hotch nodded, feeling the gravity of the moment, but continued on. "The entire team knows; they figured it out while we were working the case tonight, but I won't tell them anything we've spoken about unless you allow it. Talk it over with... Eleanor, but I'm sure they would love to meet her when we have dinner at Rossi's this Friday."

"I will." Spencer paused, "She, um, she goes by Ellie, actually."

"Ellie." Hotch made a small show of picking up the file and locking it in his desk. "Alright, Reid. You can take your paperwork home with you tonight, if you want to avoid the questions. Just have it done when you come in tomorrow morning."


	3. Chapter 3

Eleanor Reid sighed and stretched as the couch cushion dipped beneath her feet, and the new weight leaning back against her calves alerted her to her husband's presence. She reached out with a slight smile, keeping her eyes closed; she hadn't taken out her contacts before she dozed off and knew her sight would be sticky and unfocused.

"How was your date?" Ellie murmured, seeking out Spencer's unadorned ring finger. Wearing a wedding ring wasn't an option, since they made the decision to keep their relationship under wraps. The wide band of plain silver rested in a little dish on his desk.

"Uh, um, good." Spencer wrapped his hand around hers, and the sharp corner of the book poking her ribcage disappeared. _"The Handmaid's Tale?_ Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Nope." Ellie opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to resettle her contacts, and smiled at Spencer's crooked purple tie. "Can you blame a pregnant woman for being interested in other pregnancies? Now... that date. Should I be worried that you're madly in love with an assassin and put a hit out on me, or...?"

"You have nothing to worry about, Ellie," Spencer said, a bit too quickly and calmly. 

Ellie's jaw dropped open, and she struggled against the weight and bulk of her belly to sit up, shoving her legs against her husband's back. "Spencer!"

Wordlessly, Spencer dropped the book, tugged on the hand he held, and bent over, placing one of the throw pillows on the floor behind her back. Ellie frowned at him despite his helpfulness, but she didn't let go of his hand, even as he tried to pull away.

"Spence, really, should I be worried? Did something happen tonight?" Her voice was softer, and the electrifying feeling of anxiety pulsed through her veins. It wasn't the first time she had panicked, over the past four years, but the thought an unsub involving themselves in their life when the baby was nearly due was terrifying.

Spencer's shoulders dropped and his gaze followed soon after, but he shook his head. "No, no, we arrested the unsub and her accomplice before anything could happen... It's... You were... Cat Adams was better at calling lies than I am at telling them, so you became part of my cover."

_"What?_ Spencer... The baby?"

"No, please, trust me. She doesn't believe a word I said tonight after everything that happened. It's just..." 

Ellie watched as Spencer's demeanor took on what she liked to call his kicked puppy look: drooping shoulders, wide, sad eyes, a knee bouncing up and down, and lips pursed in a way that spoke of regret. She bit her lip. That look rarely boded well for whatever he planned to tell her. He sighed.

"The team- the _team_ knows me well enough to know when I'm not lying."

Ellie's stomach felt like it dropped to the floor. "They know?"

Spencer swallowed, and she watched his Adam's apple bob as he nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More from Spencer and Ellie coming up next...
> 
> (Sorry the chapters are so short, but I really prefer writing many, short chapters to longer, fewer chapters. I don't think I would ever publish anything if I had to make it any longer.)


	4. Chapter 4

Ellie bit her lip and nodded slowly, smoothing a hand over her stomach. The thump of a little elbow made contact with her palm, and she sighed, willing the residual adrenaline in her system to dissipate. The BAU knew about her; that wasn't so bad. They weren't serial killers, crazed kidnappers, or assassins.

And if she were honest, she _did_ want to meet them too. The team was Spencer's extended family, for all intents and purposes. Ellie had spent the last four years looking at pictures and watching little video clips posted to online news websites of them, but it wasn't the same as being involved. For all that she loved Spencer and agreed with his reasoning for keeping their marriage quiet, she could see the strain of keeping his life at home hidden wearing on him. Her parents loved Spencer, Diana loved Ellie when she was coherent, and together they had a nice group of casual friends in the form of old peers from college and various conventions, but the team was _different_. He spent most of his time with them, risked his life for them.

"That... that isn't _so_ bad, Spence. Right?" Her voice was quiet, cautious, and she tried to wipe any emotion from her expression as her husband's head shot up.

Really, marrying a genius profiler hadn't been Ellie's best decision, she often thought during tense moments.

"You really don't think so." It was more of a statement than a question, and Ellie nodded. Spencer bit his lip and reached out, his hand hovering over the one Ellie was resting on her stomach. "What about the risks? Haley... Sarah?"

"I can't see much of a risk in the whole unit knowing about me, in case something happens." The nervous feeling in Ellie's chest increased again, but she shook her head. "Besides... if an unsub really wanted to hurt you, he wouldn't need to find our marriage certificate or interrogate your coworkers to do it, Spence. What if he just stalks you? He would see you come home at night to a woman and a child anyway. Gideon... He and Sarah weren't exactly public knowledge anyway."

"I know... I _know_. And I know you know. We've talked this to death, but..."

"Every bit counts. I know, sweetheart. Maybe this bit wasn't as important as we believed."

Spencer's shoulders drooped again, and Ellie flipped her hand up and pressed his to her stomach, hoping the little arm wriggling against her belly would cheer him up.

"I just don't want you to think I wasted four years of your life with this."

 _"We_ made the final decision, Spence. Together." Ignoring her slight pang of hurt for the moment, Ellie shook her head. "And I think the past three years, ten months, and nineteen days have been pretty great."

The ghost of a smile turned up Spencer's lips, and he glanced over at the clock on the mantle. "Twenty-one days. Three hours, eleven minutes."

"Not going to count our relationship to the second?" she teased, glad to see her diversion work. "Anyway, I think four years of Awesome Cons, Netflix marathons, and having my husband recount the latest book I don't have time to read while I fall asleep have been worth it."

"You only like me because I can proofread your blog in under a minute."

 _"That_ I'll never tell, Dr. Reid."

Spencer's smile faded, but the twinkle didn't leave his eyes. "You really want to do this?"

"I don't think anything bad could come of it," Ellie murmured, placing her hand on top of her husband's. "We'll need all the help we can get with a new baby. My parents are six hours away, your mom is across the country..."

"You just want to meet Garcia."

"And Rossi!"

 


End file.
